It's the best thing he has never tasted!

Having a child that is different / special needs / developmentally delayed / non-typical is challenging. Not so much because of the extra work required, but mostly because your heart aches for your child when they struggle more than most. No parent wants their child to struggle any more than they have to. Life is hard enough without having to deal with additional challenges.

(And our 'issues' are minor, absolutely minuscule, in comparison to others. My deepest admiration and respect goes out to parents who have to deal with significant issues with their children. Parents of special needs / developmentally delayed children are Super Heroes)

However, the one good thing about having a child that isn't typical, is that you appreciate the milestones and achievements so much more because you know how precious and hard fought for they are. As you might know, Max is significantly speech delayed. He gets speech therapy twice a week and is making great progress. I love seeing how his speech is improving all the time and how this has such a positive influence on the rest of his life.

This weekend we went out for a milkshake and he said "This is AWESOME, it is the best thing I have never tasted!!" It was such a cute moment. Firstly because OMG how cute - the best thing he has never tasted - and also because he is speaking intelligibly in long sentences, yay!!! Makes my heart so happy to see how he is progressing. So proud of him. And it is not just me who thinks so, I got this from his speech therapist yesterday (after school holidays so she hasn't seen him for a month):

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Awh Tertia, I know I know. You may remember I contacted you years ago about sensory processing disorder - you gave me some tips. Turned out that little one of us had way more install for us - severe ADHD and a light form of autism. In the sense that we are now looking at special needs schools. And I know, every little victory is huge! You go Max!

Our 19 mo old has no words and he had his speech therapy evaluation yesterday and is having his hearing checked today. Am looking forward to getting some resources for him to help him with verbal language.

My 4 year old is also speech delayed, and also had a breakthrough a few days ago. We arrived at a restaurant with a great kids play area, and he said "Wow, this place is weird, I love it!!! Can I get sausages here??" His speech therapist said yesterday that he was also making great progress. AND..... He started sleeping in his room again. Amazing!!! He has been in our room for almost a year.... So glad that Max is doing so well :-)